May Flowers...Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

In Lauren Willig’s The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, a lovelorn American historian stumbles across a series of letters that unmask a historical mystery and tell another love story.

ELOISE KELLY is a Harvard-trained historian spending a year in England researching her dissertation.  It has a bland title that got it past the committee (something to do with aristocratic espionage during the 19^th century) but what she really wants to do is unmask the identity of a spy known as THE PINK CARNATION. Unlike the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian (two other aristocrats who saved others during the French Revolution), the Pink Carnation’s identity has never been revealed. 

Desperate for information, Eloise has resorted to sending out letters to the descendants of the Pimpernel and the Gentian, in hopes that the families might have some information for her.  She sent out almost two dozen letters but received only three replies.  One was a form letter with the times the Scarlet Pimpernel’s home is open to the public.  One was a letter from Mr. COLIN SELWICK clearly discouraging her interest in his family.  And one was a letter from MRS. ARABELLA SELWICK-ADDERLY inviting her to tea.

The dual time-frame story that unfolds from there manages to avoid most of the pitfalls of most such stories (an unbalanced narrative where the past story is more engaging than the contemporary one as it was in both THE FRIENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN and POSSESSION) but the story that takes place in the past really is a romp.

That section of the novel reads like a regency romance, with a dash of old fashioned books like THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO thrown in.  (One of the conventions of this book is that the Scarlet Pimpernel was a real person and that his masquerade inspired imitators like the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation.)  There’s also a strong dash of Jane Austen here, and the writer seems to be having a great time.

The double sets of lovers—Colin and Eloise in the present; Richard and Amy in the past—are types we’ve seen many times but Willig makes the obstacles to their relationships engaging and entertaining. We like Eloise and are curious to know how her story turns out. Amy (the Elizabeth Bennet character) is headstrong and spoiled but she’s also smart and brave and resourceful.  She and Richard are a perfect match and we know that the moment we see them together. (We also suspect that Richard’s formidable mother will approve of Amy.)

There’s talk of this book being turned into a graphic novel, and that could be a lot of fun too.

May Flowers...a GoodReads poll

There are many reasons I enjoy GoodReads andI love looking at their lists and polls. This month they have a poll asking readers what book with a flower in the title they're looking forward to reading in May. Read it here.

May Flowers--Phillip Kerr's March Violets

March Violets is the first book in Kerr's "Berlin Noir" trilogy featuring the detective Bernie Gunther.  the story takes place during the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the backdrop of the mystery is seething with anti-Semitism and the consolidation of Hitler's power. ("March violets" was a term used to describe late-comers to the Nazi Party.) If you're a fan of historical mysteries, you owe it to yourself to check out Kerr's books.

Cannes 2014

Water is life...

As much as I love words, I also love pictures and sometimes...a picture really is worth a thousand words. This PSA is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. Really gets to the point. If you want to know more about the Tar Sands Blockade, click here.

May Flowers... Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb

Apothecary Rose is a book that combines a couple of my favorite things. It's a mystery; it's written by a woman; and it's set in medieval times. Owen Archer is the hero/detective of the 14th century tale, a Welshman who lost an eye in the "wars in France" and now makes his living as "an honest spy" in the employ of the Archishop of York.  Apothecary Rose is the first in the series, which now number in the double digits. While Owen is the protagonist of the books, his "supporting cast" includes a couple of strong female characters--his apothecary wife Lucie, and Bess Merchet, a local tavern keeper.

Candace Robb has a PhD in medieval literature, and the books are full of all sorts of vivid details that make the time period come to life. She also writes a series of novels about Margaret Kerr, which are set in 13th century Scotland. Margaret's first "case" involves her own missing husband (A Trust Betrayed),  I find it kind of amazing that A Trust Betrayed has only 17 reviews on Amazon while other books (Gone Girl comes to mind) have thoursands. (Gone Girl, in case you're wondering, has more than 18,000 reviews.  I liked it too but really?  Eighteen thousand and Candace only gets 17?  The balance seems a bit off.) 

Candace's books are cozies, and sometimes, after a long day of dealing with clients, that's just what I'm in the mood for. If you are too, and you've already read all of the Brother Cadfael books twice, check out Candace's books.

May Flowers...Torch Ginger

In my misspent youth, I lived in Honolulu for a year, working as an assistant editor at Aloha Magazine, a gorgeous, slick quarterly magazine that mostly catered to the tourist trade. I lived in a high-rise apartment that overlooked the Iolani Palace (familiar as the office of the original Hawaii 5-O) and Punchbowl Veteran's cemetery. Of the many things I appreciated about Hawaii after living in Los Angeles was that the air was always warm and scented with flowers not car exhaust. When I think of Hawaii, I almost always think of flowers.

Torch ginger

Hawaii is made of flowers--many of which are too delicate to transport to the mainland. I grew particularly fond of pikake, which is often used in lei-making.  Pikake" is the Hawaiian word for jasmine. One of the showiest flowers I saw in Honolulu was torch ginger. It was used a lot in hotel flower arrangements and my office was originally in a hotel.  (At the time, Don Ho was the biggest act in the islands and he appeared at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I often shared an elevator with Mr. Ho, who was always cordial.)  The other cool thing about the hotel (a rumor management tried to stamp out) was that the goddess Pele was said to make appearances every once in a while. Pele's an intriguing and powerful goddess. When she appears to mortals, it's (usually) in one of two forms--either as a beautiful woman or as an ancient crone. She's usually wearing a red dress and fire is usually invovled.  I cannot tell you how much I wanted to run into Pele.  But I digress.

Torch Ginger is also the name of one of Toby Neal's "Lei Crime" series mysteries, and a book I snagged when it was being promoted as a freebie for Kindle. If you're like me, you've probably wondered if giving a book away free does anything for you except distribute your books into the wild, I can tell you that Torch Ginger made me a fan and I've since gone on to read (and buy) other books in the series. there are now six in the series (Shattered Palms, the latest, came out in March.) For those bemoaning the lack of women writing crime fiction that's about women, the novels are a treat. They "star" Det. Leilani "Lei" Texeira who not only island hops (this book takes place on the island of Kauai), but transitions from the police to the FBI. Neal's writing is very accessible and Lei is a likable character. You definitely need to check out the series, which begins with Blood Orchids.